Welcome to Bimmerfest -- The #1 Online Community for BMW related information! Please enjoy the discussion forums below and share your experiences with the 200,000 current, new and past BMW owners. The forums are broken out by car model and into other special interest sections such as BMW European Delivery and a special forum to voice your questions to the many BMW dealers on the site to assist our members!

The reason is the Adaptive M Suspension which is bundled in the DH Package (and also available separately):

On Sport line, hit a button and get the softer Comfort suspension.

On Luxury line, hit a button and get the firmer Sport suspension.

All the time, the adaptive dampers are sensing road conditions and making micro-adjustments to road feel.

BJ

When you "hit the button", does it only affect the suspension, or other things such as steering and throttle response change as well? It would be nice if you could control the suspension independently.

Btwy, are you sure you can have the Adaptive M suspension outside of the DHP? I can't see that as a standalone option on bmwusa, but of course that doesn't mean anything.

I also have yet to read some feedback here about the "Variable sport steering" component of the DHP. Any opinions by owners?

When you "hit the button", does it only affect the suspension, or other things such as steering and throttle response change as well?

When you are in ECO or Comfort the suspension is in "soft" mode. ECO also provides much softer throttle response, all settings are to optimize fuel economy. SPORT and SPORT+ modes give you suspension in "firm" mode. Throttle response is much sharper, steering is heavier and feels more direct.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmw_or_audi

Btwy, are you sure you can have the Adaptive M suspension outside of the DHP? I can't see that as a standalone option on bmwusa, but of course that doesn't mean anything.

I don't believe you can. On my MY2013 I had to order the DHP to get the adaptive M suspension. Didn't really want the variable sport steering but felt the adaptive M suspension was worth the price of the entire DHP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmw_or_audi

I also have yet to read some feedback here about the "Variable sport steering" component of the DHP. Any opinions by owners?

I really don' t notice it. It doesn't come into play on highway cruising or at higher speeds, only after you turn the wheel by more than 100 degrees (more than quarter turn) does the ratio quicken. Its actually quite handy making tight turns into my garage, in parking lots, or on tight switchbacks.

You can also tell through the iDrive system. When configuring sport setup it will ask you if you want the suspension to adjust when sport is selected. This suspension adjustment option is only there if you have the adjustible M suspension.

You can also tell through the iDrive system. When configuring sport setup it will ask you if you want the suspension to adjust when sport is selected. This suspension adjustment option is only there if you have the adjustible M suspension.

Very true. Plus if you have it you will feel the car's suspension tighten up considerably from comfort to sport. Its like you jumped in a different car. Now I can't validate this statement, I have test driven just one 335i in the BMW USA event that didn't have DHP and it wasn't a Sport Line model. It was a luxury model. From what I remember I would say the comfort level setting is a tat softer that the regular suspension on that car but in sport mode its almost certainly a bit stiffer than the regular sport suspension in the sport line (I test drove a sport line 335i extensively back in June). But because it still adjust to the type of road you are on it is still very comfortable

A sure way to tell if the car has DHP is to pop the hood and see if there are wires coming from the top of the struts?

The strut actuators are on the side of the strut body and the wiring runs out of the wheel well with the ABS and other sensor wires. I do not believe you could tell from looking at the tops of the strut. If you turn the wheel to full lock you should be able to see the actuator on the rear side of the strut body. It sticks out at 90 degrees and is fairly obvious -